


Being With You is Never Enough

by my_chemical_romanoff



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, smol birb can't confess his feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-20
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2019-04-04 22:47:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14030502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/my_chemical_romanoff/pseuds/my_chemical_romanoff
Summary: Oswald desperately wants to tell Ed how he feels, but it is worth potentially losing their friendship over?





	Being With You is Never Enough

**Author's Note:**

> Day two for Nygmobblepot week, sharing a bed.

              “Ed?” Oswald whispered as he tapped on the mahogany door. He knew it was late, but he also knew that his Chief of Staff was a night owl.

              “It’s open,” Ed called back.

              Oswald pressed down on the handle before slipping into the bedroom. He closed the door behind him as he stepped inside.

Ed was hunched over his desk, but he looked up to Oswald with a smile when he entered. “Can’t sleep, Mr. Mayor?” He couldn’t help but notice that Oswald was dragging his right leg more than usual.

Oswald had only been mayor for two days but his schedule was already packed: touring the city, public statements, feeding the homeless, visiting school-and that didn’t even include any of the paperwork or bills that needed reviewing. The job wasn’t as easy as Oswald had thought it would be, but his mother never complained about juggling jobs as a single mother. Oswald wasn’t going to complain, either. He fought for this role, and he wasn’t going to give up so easily...But being mayor of Gotham wasn’t what was keeping Oswald awake. “No,” he chuckled. “I thought sleep would come easy, but it isn’t.” Edward was the real reason. Oswald couldn’t get the man out of his head ever since Ed showed him that the people of Gotham genuinely wanted him as their mayor. He trudged over to the trunk at the foot of Ed’s bed and sat. He showed Oswald that the people wanted him for who he was. Oswald didn’t need to pay for their respect. He had that from the beginning…“I’m not overworking you, am I?” he asked in a panic.

“Not at all,” Ed promised, turning in his chair. “I was just finishing up your schedule for next week.”

“Well. If it’s ever too much, please let me know.” Oswald was amazed at how quickly Ed was adjusting to the changes. Yet another thing that Oswald admired about him. He had enough things to compile a list, and the more Oswald reflected on that list, the more he wanted to tell Ed…

“Is everything alright, Oswald?” Ed asked with genuine concern. It wasn’t like Oswald to avoid eye contact.

_No…_ His hands balled up into fists at his sides.

Ed reached out to pat Oswald’s bad knee. Oswald gasped and Ed retracted his hand as if the Penguin was about to bite it off. “I’m so sorry! Does it hurt that bad?”

“No,” Oswald breathed. He didn’t mean to startle Ed like that. “It isn’t that bad.” Oswald was stalling now. His chest had never felt so tight.

“May I try massaging it?” Ed offered. He knew how much Oswald hated people fussing over his leg, but it bothered him to know that he was in constant pain. “Or I’ll get you an ice pack.” He rose from his chair, but a sharp “no!” from the mayor forced him to sit back down.

“A massage might help. Just my ankle.” Oswald was never going to tell him at this rate.

“Sit on the bed,” Ed suggested. “Stretching it out should help.”

Oswald nodded and limped over to the bed. He grabbed one of Ed’s pillows and propped it up against the headrest for him to lean against. As Ed sat at the foot of the bed, it reminded Oswald of how things were when they first started living together in Edward’s cramped loft.

“Do you miss it?” Ed wondered with a smile.

Oswald blinked. “Miss what?”

“My apartment.”

“How did you know I was thinking about that?” He watched as Ed lifted the cuff of his pants. “Keep my sock on, please,” he quietly added. Oswald knew that Ed was familiar with the bruising and he didn’t want him focusing on that tonight.

Ed respected the mayor’s wishes as he began to massage his ankle. “Just a guess. Sharing a bed was the first thing that came to my mind.”

Oswald chuckled. “This is much roomier than your apartment.”

“It is,” Ed agreed. He observed the way Oswald’s mouth opened as if to say something else, but words seemed to fail him. “I’ll stop if you like…”

Oswald shook his head. “It’s fine.” He spoke slowly and put thought into every word he wanted to say. The last thing he wanted was for the wrong thing to leave his lips. Oswald could feel sweat form at the back of his neck. The topic he longed to approach was completely foreign to him and he knew that it could ruin everything if he wasn’t careful. “Did I ever tell you that my mother used to live here?”

“She was the cook,” Ed quickly recalled.

Ed’s photographic memory was near the top of Oswald’s list. He always listened. “An excellent cook,” Oswald proudly added.

“And that helped capture the heart of Mr. VanDahl,” Ed grinned.

“He was her soul mate.” Oswald’s voice drifted. “I never quite cared for the traditional fairy tales. I always wanted to hear stories about my parents; about my mother and her one true love.”

Ed watched Oswald with a fond smile.

“My mother would always tell me that life only gives you one true love.” Oswald glanced up at Ed. Their gazes locked and he fought to recall what came next. “And…” This was a story that Oswald knew by heart, but now he was struggling to remember it. “When you find it, you run to it.” Oswald couldn’t ask for a better segue. “I always loved hearing that story.”

“It’s very romantic.” Ed’s hand rested on his friend’s ankle.

“Very.” Oswald pursed his lips. His father told him that letting his mother go was his biggest regret. Oswald wanted to be brave in honor of his beloved parents, but he feared that confessing his feelings would ruin the friendship that he had with Ed. He audibly exhaled with a wide smile. “Thank you, Edward.” Their friendship was something that he held very close to his heart. “I should try getting some rest.” He pulled his knees in before shifting to leave the bed.

“Anytime, Oswald,” Ed promised.

He could try again tomorrow…


End file.
